British Retail Consortium
The British Retail Consortium (BRC) plays a key role in supporting the UK retail sector, including jewellers, through advocacy, policy development, and industry standards. For jewellery trade professionals, understanding BRC initiatives helps navigate regulatory changes, consumer trends, and challenges facing the wider retail landscape. Jewellery Focus provides coverage on BRC updates, reports, campaigns, and insights into how its work impacts jewellers, suppliers, and stakeholders across the industry.
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Jul- 2014 -29 JulyEditor's Blog
The luxury goods market is buoyant – it’s time to stop blaming the economy
When luxury goods giant LVMH announces that handbags and belts at £1000+ a piece are doing better than watches and jewellery, you have to ask what is going on. The West, in its entirety, has become obsessed with the notion that economic weakness is to blame for poor sales in…
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10 JulyEconomy
High street retailers struggle to keep up with online shopping
Bricks-and-mortar retail stores are struggling to keep up as footfall falls while online retail grows, according to a new report by ‘the voice of e-retail’, IMRG. The report, entitled ‘A Tale of Two Cities’ which used index data from various sources including ONS, IMRG and BRC, discovered that town and…
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9 JulyEconomy
Shop price inflation hits record low, says BRC
Shop price inflation fell for the 14th consecutive month in June, according to the latest figures from the British Retail Consortium (BRC). The BRC-Nielsen Shop Price Index 2014 discovered that overall shop price deflation accelerated to 1.8% in June, the deepest level of deflation since the report began in December…
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Jun- 2014 -23 JuneCurrent Affairs
Carrier bag tax ‘will confuse shoppers’ as small retailers exempt
The British Retail Consortium (BRC) says its members have expressed “serious disappointment” that government plans to charge for carrier bags will ignore the advice of the industry and a key parliamentary committee. Legislators plan to press ahead with plans to charge 5p for carrier bags to cut waste, litter and…
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13 JuneNews
BRC: Retail sales growth slows in May
Retail sales growth slowed down in the month of May, according to the latest figures from the British Retail Consortium (BRC). The BRC-KPMG Retail Sales Monitor said UK retail sales for May were up 0.5% on a like-for-like basis from May 2013, when they had increased 1.8% on the preceding…
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3 JuneEditor's Blog
It’s only fair that card fees are knocked on the head
The news that we’re using less physical cash in the UK than at any other time in history means there has been a consumer behaviour revolution. The public has, on a wholesale basis, abandoned of cash in favour of the trusty chip ‘n’ pin. But somehow, the flexibility doesn’t seem…
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3 JuneEconomy
Cash use down by 14% over the last five years, says BRC
By Helen Dickinson, director general of the British Retail Consortium Customers are using less cash than ever as retailers make it easier and more convenient to shop and pay. New data reveals that a growing proportion of smaller payments previously made in cash are now being made in other ways.…
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Apr- 2014 -8 AprilEditor's Blog
The buying begins
It now seems that the upward trend for hallmarking figures is gaining strength. Across the four major assay offices in the UK, the total number of items hallmarked in the first quarter of this year was up by 23 per cent, compared with the same period the previous year. The…
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7 AprilEconomy
BRC welcomes European Parliament vote on card payment fees
The British Retail Consortium (BRC) has welcomed a vote by MEPs for an overhaul of the European payments market, which could include introducing a cap on bank fees charged to retailers for card payments. It is thought that the caps could be set at 0.2 per cent and 0.3 per…
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Mar- 2014 -11 MarchEconomy
Three-month retail sales growth ‘in line’ at 2.8%, says BRC
The three-month average growth in retail sales to the end of February was 2.8 per cent, according to the latest figures from the British Retail Consortium (BRC). These figures mean the three-month period was in line with the 12-month trend, which now sits at 2.7 per cent growth. However, on…
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